After more than two decades, police have identified a woman who was found dead in Redondo Beach.
Using the method of genetic genealogy, investigators determined that the remains found on Aug. 20, 2001, during construction in the 1600 block of Wallacott Street, are those of Catherine Parker-Johnson, said Redondo Beach Police Lt. Jeff Mendence, in a statement Friday.
The department’s cold case unit reopened the case in 2019, working with the nonprofit DNA Doe Project, an organization that uses genetic genealogy to identify deceased people. The group formed a genetic profile of Parker-Johnson using DNA found where her body was discovered, Mendence said.
The remains were provisionally identified in March of this year, after a DNA comparison with two women who were later identified as the victim’s daughter and sister, according to Mendence.
Based on searches of police databases and other sources, investigators determined that Parker-Johnson was not reported missing, and that she lost contact with her family in May 1981. The last record of any contact with her was on August 31, 1981, in Lennox.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, on March 27, 2023, sent a DNA sample it had collected to the California Department of Justice, to compare their sample with a sample from the crime scene. On April 30, the justice department confirmed the DNA match and identified Parker-Johnson, Mendence said.
Genetic genealogy is a method that uses the results of DNA tests, in addition to traditional genealogical methods, to create family history profiles and establish biological relationships between individuals. It has been increasingly used to solve unsolved cases, such as the “Kid in the Box,” Joseph Augustus Zarelliwho was finally identified last year after being found malnourished and severely beaten inside a box in Philadelphia in 1957.
The Redondo Beach Police Department has scheduled a press conference for Monday at 10 am, where authorities will ask for the public’s help and provide more details about the Parker-Johnson shooting.
Anyone with information on the victim is asked to contact investigators John Skipper or Rick Petersen by dialing 310-379-2477, extension 2714, texting 310-937-6675, or emailing [email protected].
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